Laser Digital, the crypto unit of Japanese banking giant Nomura, has launched its asset management business with a bitcoin fund.

The Bitcoin Adoption Fund provides "long-only" exposure to bitcoin for institutional investors, Laser Digital said Tuesday. The fund is part of Laser Digital Funds SPC — which is registered as a mutual fund with the Cayman Islands Regulatory Authority.

Laser Digital will use Komainu, which Nomura co-founded in 2018 with Ledger and CoinShares, to custody the fund's assets. Laser Digital said the Bitcoin Adoption Fund is the first in a range of crypto investment products the firm will launch.

The fund launched as bitcoin rose above $27,000 earlier this week for the first time since August. The world's first and largest cryptocurrency has traded rangebound in …